Named professorships provide support for a focused area and are funded by gifts from individual donors. Initial funding for the Sparks professorships came from an NEH challenge grant endowment created in Penn State’s first capital campaign in the 1980s.

Criteria

Nomination and Selection Process

Periodically the Dean sends out a call to department heads for nominations. The Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies sets up a small committee of named and distinguished faculty to review the nominations and make recommendations to the Dean.

Current Named Professors

• Thomas O. Beebee, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Comparative Literature and German
• Anthony Bertelli, Douglas S. and Joyce L. Sherwin Professor in the College of the Liberal Arts Honoring Frank Whitmore and Professor of Public Policy and Political Science 
• Robert Bernasconi, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy and African American Studies
• Michael Bérubé, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Literature
• Tobias Brinkmann, Malvin E. and Lea P. Bank Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and History
• Kristin Buss, Tracy Winfree and Ted H. McCourtney Professor in Children, Work, and Families and Professor of Psychology
• Suresh Canagarajah, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Applied Linguistics, English and Asian Studies
• Patrick Cheney, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and Comparative Literature
• Claire Colebrook, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English
• Sophie De Schaepdrijver, Helen P. and Walter L. Ferree Professor of History
• Richard Doyle, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English
• Caroline Eckhardt, Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal Chair in Literary Theory and Comparative Criticism and Professor of Comparative Literature and English
• Robert R. Edwards, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and Comparative Literature
• Daniel Falk, Chaiken Family Chair in Jewish Studies and Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies
• P. Gabrielle Foreman, Paterno Family Professor of American Literature and Professor of American Studies and History
• Keith Gilyard, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and African American Studies
• Jennifer Glick, Arnold S. and Bette G. Hoffman Professor of Sociology
• Amy Greenberg, George Winfree Professor of American History and Women's Studies
• Emily Grosholz, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy, English, and African American Studies
• Debra Hawhee, McCourtney Professor of Civic Deliberation and Professor of English and Communication Arts and Sciences (Senior Scholar of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy)
• Ronnie Po-chia Hsia, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of History and Asian Studies
• Karen E. Johnson, William J.and Catherine Craig Kirby Professor in Language Learning
• Rosemary Jolly, Weiss Chair in the Humanities and Professor of Comparative Literature, English, Bioethics, African Studies, and Women's Studies
• Susanne Klausen, Julia Gregg Brill Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Michael Kulikowski, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of History and Classics
• Leonard R. Lawlor, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy
• John Lipski, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Spanish and Linguistics
• David Loewenstein, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and the Humanities
• Shara McCallum, Penn State Laureate and Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English
• Michael M. Naydan, Woskob Family Professor in Ukrainian Studies and Professor of Slavic Languages
• Jeffrey T. Nealon, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and Philosophy
• Aldon Lynn Nielsen, George and Barbara Kelly Professor of American Literature
• Craig Pearce, Brova Family Endowed Professor of Leadership and Human Resources
• Koraly Perez-Edgar, McCourtney Professor of Child Studies and Professor of Psychology
• Matthew Restall, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Colonial Latin American History, Anthropology, and Women’s Studies
• Laura Robson, William L. and Donna F. Oliver-McCourtney Professorship in the Department of History
• Aaron Rubin, Malvin E. and Lea P. Bank Professor of Jewish Studies, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, and Linguistics
• Benjamin J. Schreier, Mitrani Family Professor of Jewish Studies, and Professor of English and Jewish Studies
• Christina Snyder, McCabe Greer Professor of the History of the American Civil War Era
• Sandra Spanier, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and Women's Studies
• Darrell Steffensmeier, Dr. John Kramer Professorship in Criminology and Professor of Sociology and Criminology
• Mary Stuckey, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
• Nancy A. Tuana, DuPont/Class of 1949 Professor in Ethics and Professor of Philosophy, Humanities, and Women's Studies
• Jennifer Van Hook, Roy C. Buck Professor of American Institutions and Sociology and Demography

Former Named Professors (retired or holding other titles)

• Duane Alwin, Tracy Winfree and Ted H. McCourtney Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Demography
• Paul B. Amato, Arnold S. and Bette G. Hoffman Professor Emeritus of Family Sociology and Demography
• Thomas W. Benson, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric
• Karen L. Bierman, Evan Pugh University Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies (2015 McCourtney Professor of Child Studies, and Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies)
• William A. Blair, Walter L. and Helen P. Ferree Professor Emeritus of Middle American History
• Gerard Brault, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies
• Suresh Canagarajah, William J. and Catherine Craig Kirby Professor of Language Learning
• William Duiker, Liberal Arts Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies
• Glenn Firebaugh, Roy C. Buck Professor Emeritus in American Institutions and Sociology and Demography
• Thomas A. Hale, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of African, French and Comparative Literature
• Baruch Halpern, Chaiken Family Chair in Jewish Studies Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Ancient History and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies
• J. Michael Hogan, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric
• Robert D. Hume, Evan Pugh University Professor of English (1991 Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English)
• Kathryn Hume, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emerita of English
• J. Philip Jenkins, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of the Humanities
• James Lantolf, George C. and Jane G. Greer Professor Emeritus in Language Acquisition and Professor of Applied Linguistics
• Djelal Kadir, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature
• Gerald N. Knoppers, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies
• Norris J. Lacy, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies
• Joan Landes, Helen P. and Walter L. Ferree Professor Emerita of Early Modern History and Women’s Studies
• Lynn S. Liben, Evan Pugh University Professor of Psychology, Human Development and Family Studies, and Education (2016 McCourtney Professor of Child Studies and Professor of Psychology, Human Development and Family Studies, and Education)
• David Lowery, Bruce R. Miller and Dean D. LaVigne Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
• Wilson J. Moses, Walter L. and Helen P. Ferree Professor Emeritus of Middle American History
• Mark E. Neely, Jr., McCabe Greer Professor Emeritus in the American Civil War Era
• Carol Reardon, George Winfree Professor Emerita of American History
• Paul Lawrence Rose, Mitrani Family Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies and Professor Emeritus of European History
• William R. Schmalsteig, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages and Linguistics
• Robert Schoen, Hoffman Professor of Family Sociology and Demography
• Jack Selzer, Paterno Family Liberal Arts Professor Emeritus of Literature
• Willa Silverman, Malvin E. and Lea P. Bank Professor Emerita of French and Jewish Studies
• Susan M. Squier, Julia Gregg Brill Professor Emerita of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and English
• James L. W. West III, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of English
• Linda Woodbridge, Josephine Berry Weiss Chair Emerita in the Humanities and Professor Emerita of English and Women's Studies